June 2009
33 posts
“There’s so much value in having this data. The less of these logs we...”
– Google’s Larry Page, explaining that the company keeps user data to help in its work tracking diseases and protecting humanity.
[# via Carr]
May 2009
53 posts
a public secret about my body
keyholez:
Today I went to a shirtmaker and a tailor, and both informed me that I stand very crookedly, with one shoulder much lower than the other. This basically makes it impossible for any clothes to fit me, because ordinary humans are symmetrical, and clothes are designed for ordinary humans.
Both shirtmaker and tailor discovered this awful mutation of mine as soon as I put on their...
Few people outside the company have seen footage... →
For years, Disney has been lambasted by some parents for not having a black princess. Now, some of those same voices are taking aim at the company without seeing the finished product. (Officially, the princesses are Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel of “The Little Mermaid,” Belle of “Beauty and the Beast” and Jasmine of “Aladdin” — all white except for Jasmine, who is Arabian. The...
Bitter behavior is so common and deeply... →
"Magazine, Newspaper Readers Aging at Accelerated... →
A misleadingly interesting way to phrase this.
E! Online: Twitterverses: Stars Tweet Out Against... →
“Tweet out”.
Everyone is going to die.
Webcast Your Brain Surgery? Hospitals See... →
Um.
What would the robot do?
derrinyet:
fiatluxemburg:
A while ago I took my accumulated coins to a Coinstar machine because while it does keep some amount of your money the alternative is to just have a bunch of coins. But when I arrived at the machine I discovered that this amout was 8.9%, which initially struck me as kind of a lot.
Some banks, in particular TD Bank-nee-Commerce Bank, have machines that sort your...
What would the robot do?
A while ago I took my accumulated coins to a Coinstar machine because while it does keep some amount of your money the alternative is to just have a bunch of coins. But when I arrived at the machine I discovered that this amout was 8.9%, which initially struck me as kind of a lot. Then I realized that at most I had like $75 in change so they were taking what? $7? Not terrible. But what if there...
Exactly right! [[or not]]
keyholez:
memesetc:
“Advances” such as gay marriage and the increasing media visibility of well-heeled gays and lesbians threaten to obscure the continuing denigration and dismissal of queer existence. One may enter the mainstream on the condition that one breaks ties with all those who cannot make it — the nonwhite and the nonmonogamous, the poor and the genderdeviant, the fat, the disabled,...
President Obama promised members of the graduating class at the US Naval Academy Friday that they would never have to fight an unnecessary war. […]
One member of the President’s audience was Senator John McCain. McCain and his family were at the event to see their oldest son Jack graduate. Jack and Obama shared a moment on stage while Mrs. McCain cheered her son on after he received...
Maybe not friends, per se
keyholez:
Hey, asshole, I already tumbl’d that.
(Before Tumblarity (“B.T.”), I would not have posted something so petty (especially not at 6:20 in the morning). But I think I get points for reblogging, so there you have it. I’m not here to make friends (h/t elsam).)
keyholez:
tumblr appeals to my darkest ambitions Want more followers? Invite your friends!
wedding colors?
keyholez:
Red noise comes from Brown motion.
Also,
An infinite-bandwidth white noise signal is purely a theoretical construct. By having power at all frequencies, the total power of such a signal would be infinite.
Wikipedia is best when it can be mistaken for science fiction.
“Mr. Sessions said he expected that Mr. Obama would take care to avoid selecting...”
– [#]
Are there even personal problems besides ethics and taxes?
Harvard Crimson Editors Flee Journalism as Ravaged... →
I just saw an ad during 30 Rock for Conan in which he tells the viewer about “a new technology called ‘television’ that lets you watch your favorite shows just like you would on your computer or phone except from a more comfortable position” and encourages everone to try it tonight. I hoped that it would be followed by the Alec Baldwin Hulu comercial but it wasn’t.
I...
But why does she have a retro blogspot blog? Are...
gloriaj:
Tavi is a 13 year old fashion blogger, who makes me feel insecure about my own personal style. Her outfits are bold, interesting, and reflective of what it felt like to be 13. She is a lot more aware of the world (because of the internet?) than I ever was at that age, which is both good and bad, I suppose. She’s really charming and she writes a lot, but she doesn’t remember Hanson...
Was everyone else aware of this trend? →
Sharks, cilantro, Ryan Gosling, Bjork, Watchmen, puppies, Rachel Maddow, Pandas, Anne Hathaway, Detroit, red, Lost, Bono, tattoos, beards…
Quite a culture we’re building around here.
White House Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs' →
"What Is Google Squared? It Is How Google Will... →
Unrelatedly, to my horror, this link sits on top of all the new TechCrunch posts now:
Live CrunchCam: Watch Bloggers While They Blog
U.S. warhead disposal in 15-year backlog →
smarterplanet:
“IBM InfoSphere Streams enables continuous and extremely fast analysis of massive volumes of information-in-motion to help improve business insights and decision making. A high-performance computing system that rapidly analyzes information as it streams from thousands of real-time sources, increasing the speed and accuracy of decision making in diverse fields such as healthcare,...
“Today, Google announced…a whimsical, but brilliant new Android application...”
– (RWW)
Um.
“If you’re thinking about the marshmallow and how delicious it is, then you’re...”
– psychobabble: more from “Don’t! The Secret of Self-Control”
Yeah, it’s like that:
In adults, this skill is often referred to as metacognition, or thinking about thinking, and it’s what allows people to outsmart their shortcomings. (When Odysseus had himself tied to the...
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM CRUSHED: GOOGLE TO INTERVENE... →
Er, or something.
will wolfram alpha be a big deal?
seedz:
@fiatluxemburg
luckyorgood:
I think likely.
I just sat through a one hour webinar/conference call/press conference demonstration by Stephen Wolfram and was captivated for most of it.
I’m no webspert… the claims that this will threaten Google, seem silly, because it does a completely different thing… but the possibilities for integration with other sources of information or media —...
apotemnophilia
absalomabsalom:
People with this condition usually describe the affected limb as being “intrusive” or “over-present”, and report that they have had the desire to remove since early childhood, but do not understand why […] The vast majority of BIID sufferers have no other psychological disturbances, and almost always say that they feel much happier when the limb is eventually...
endasher:
Panel Discussion at 2007 DragonCon.
[Click here for same discussion at 2006 DragonCon.]
I like Battlestar better because I feel each episode does more to move the overarching plot of the show forward.
Possible site of free will found in brain - life -... →
Well, I’m glad we cleared that one up.
New tumblr things?
absalomabsalom:
1. Tumblarity. Verdict: Cynical.
It seems sorta cool, but let us slice to the heart of the matter: cui bono? The answer: Tumblr. Posts, followers, likes, reblogs: Tumblr would like to enter you into a popularity contest. Tumbl alot? Watch your ranking soar! Not using your Tumblr that much? Have a nice serving of negative fail! However, you know you sorta like it. And, like a...
Spam Back to 94% of All E-Mail →
Art historians claim Van Gogh's ear 'cut off by... →
From the Gaurdian, not the Onion.
"You know what would make things easier? More... →
But they’re just so pretty!
Watchkeyholez:
Viral ad for Terminator?
That is the stupidest thing I have ever seen. ROBOTS DON’T EAT PEOPLE.
I can’t help but think this has something to do with the bacon problem.
And by detatched and uncaring I mean faithful to...
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah says Obama’s comment last week about naming a justice who understands Americans’ problems and has empathy for people is “code” for putting in place a person who legislates from the bench. (#)
He's not exaggerating
Carr, on Tim O’Reilly’s new “book”:
Tim wrote a book. The title of Tim’s book is The Twitter Book. Tim didn’t use a pen to write his book. Tim didn’t even use a word processor to write his book. Tim used PowerPoint to write his book. Tim wrote his book very fast, as fast, he says, as he writes “a new talk.” There are pictures in Tim’s...